Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 754

The shattered pieces of the God’s Palm fell and slowly disappeared, like a mirage or some kind of sublimation.

Whatever it was, one thing was clear: Ian’s superior magic had been neutralized in front of the shadow.

‘That…’

So, that was possible.

The mages watched, dumbfounded, as if their understanding of the world had been broadened to a ridiculous degree.

No one had imagined such a thing until they saw it with their own eyes. Even if someone had proposed it as a hypothesis, they would have dismissed it as absurd nonsense.

After all, on Gaia, where they stood, superior magic was the closest thing to a god’s power. And if the caster was Ian, there was nothing more to say.

“Th-…”

Ian, too, seemed quite shocked, frozen in mid-air.

The shadow tilted its head, watching Ian as if amused. It was the gaze of an absolute being looking at a trivial creature.

-I am the shadow. If there is no god, then I am nothing, but the opposite is also true. Without me, a god cannot exist. Isn’t it amusing?

Fragment of a god, your power stops at the level of my fragments.

No matter how much you reverse time or receive the love of a god, there is a clear limit. It’s an absolute fact that cannot be distorted, even by a rift [a tear in space-time].

Zhiiiing! Zhiing!

Instead of answering, Ian immediately focused his mana. He needed to confirm if it was only the God’s Palm magic that was affected, or if his magic itself had truly been neutralized.

Boom! Bang!

Ian circled the shadow, creating explosions in succession. His fierce attacks reached the shadow.

However, the darkness swallowed Ian’s attacks as if melting everything away. It was unbelievable. It was as if another dimension itself was breathing and facing them right before their eyes.

‘…No matter what I do, it’s useless?’

The thought surfaced in Ian’s mind. He quickly erased it, without even realizing it had appeared.

If he concluded that, it would be the end. He wouldn’t be able to find a way, and even if he did, he would doubt it. This was the beginning of defeat, so Ian steeled his mind and took a breath.

‘There is definitely a way. There must be.’

Think, Ian.

He bit his lower lip and glared at the shadow.

And then—

Thump.

Below his chest, a throbbing pain resurfaced, as if telling him not to forget it. It was the strange pain he had felt when he annihilated the Idgal army earlier.

‘Right, Idgal is still here.’

Let’s see if I can cut the shadow with this.

Ian grabbed Idgal with both hands. His fingertips were trembling faintly, not from fear, but from his physical limitations.

Since entering the heart of Toloon, Ian had not rested, and he had been handling the superior magic that he had shared with his clone alone. He could sense that his limits were gradually approaching.

-Isn’t that also the power of a god?

The shadow laughed as if it were pathetic.

It seemed genuinely amused. The world outside the rift was so ridiculous. He understood why the god loved it so much.

“Ah.”

It’s kindly telling me that it won’t work.

But Ian didn’t stop, and he approached the shadow, swinging his sword. Even if this worked, it would only be a small scratch that wouldn’t even leave a mark on it.

Swish!

The shadow slightly split along Ian’s sword trajectory. It was like a clump of fog scattering.

Then, a demonic energy surged through the gap.

“……!”

The abyss. Ian, who had been submerged in the abyss twice, recognized the energy immediately.

The inside of the shadow was filled with the abyss. Whether it was the source of its power, or whether it was because it was impossible to come to Gaia without separating from the abyss, he couldn’t tell.

Then, one question came to mind.

‘If I cut it, will the abyss flow out?’

The words of the dead gypsy suddenly came to mind.

When she was submerged in the abyss with Rutherford, she warned Ian, who wanted to take Naum, that if a being from the abyss came to Gaia, they would witness a terrible disaster.

“…Tricky.”

He admitted it. It was a more tricky and enormous being than any other he had ever met. The more it was like this, the more he should step back and take a moment to assess the situation…

-Finally.

The shadow whispered.

When Ian turned around, he saw the magic swordsmen running across the buildings. They were rushing to support the mages after quickly finishing the battle on the walls.

But instead of being happy, Ian felt his heart sink.

“Don’t come!”

If everyone gathered, the shadow would start to move.

Jayrut, who had been running without delay, stopped at Ian’s shout.

“Stop!”

At his command, the magic swordsmen stopped immediately, but from the shadow’s perspective, they were all already within its influence.

The flow of the wind changed in an instant.

“Ah.”

The god seen up close was not a being that could be described. It was the earth, the sky, a stormy night, and at the same time, the desert sun that melted everything.

Even if they were chosen by a god, it was a power from beyond that mere humans could not reach…. The magic swordsmen felt a chill down their spines.

‘It’s coming.’

Within the shadow’s influence—

Everyone there sensed it.

-I have been waiting. Fragments of a god.

Thud! Thump!

Kugugugung!

The sky where the God’s Palm had descended swirled and raged. On the ground, everyone who could see looked up.

“Get a grip!”

From the mages’ side, Hale, and from the magic swordsmen’s side, Jayrut, awakened their comrades. How could they be so넋놓고 [넋놓고 (neoknohgo) means to be in a daze or to be spacing out] in a situation where they might die even if they gave it their all?

“Look at Ian!”

Ian was gathering his mana again. He knew that his attacks wouldn’t work, but he didn’t give up.

The mages also gritted their teeth and continued to pour out all their energy to capture the king before them.

Tap!

Zhiiiing! Zhiing! Boom!

“Captain Jayrut, what should we do?”

“Minister Ian told us not to get close—”

“Minister Ian—!”

Captain Jayrut raised his voice from deep within his abdomen. He wanted to ask what was going on and why they shouldn’t approach, but the shadow didn’t allow it.

-Disappear.

Kugugugung! Thump!

The sky collapsed.

To be precise, the boundary of the sky disappeared at the shadow’s gesture, like smearing wet paint with a hand. A part of nature was disturbed.

Swish!

Darkness flew in to grab Ian. It was not a speed that could be perceived with the eyes.

Ian barely, narrowly, dodged it as he moved.

‘There’s nowhere to retreat.’

It was a sinister power whose essence was unknown. He was certain that the moment he was caught, his body would melt and be torn in two.

The streaks of darkness targeting him had already increased and were flying in from all directions.

Swish! Swish!

The shadow was enjoying it. It looked down at Ian, who was struggling, with pity, and was clearly smiling. There were no facial features on its face, but Ian clearly felt it.

“I-”

Zhiiiing!

Ian spread Idgal wide to create a shield. But the darkness broke through Idgal too easily and penetrated it.

A sense of helplessness that far exceeded expectations overwhelmed him. And when Ian recognized the darkness flying towards his neck, it was already….

‘…Too late.’

He reflexively raised his arm to block it, but he knew. It was too late.

Thwack!

The sound of something tearing and piercing was heard clearly. It was the sound of his heart being pierced.

But Ian did not die.

“……?”

The darkness did not reach Ian. At the moment he sensed death, the hem of a fluttering robe had brushed past Ian. Red blood burst into the air.

Swish!

“……!”

It was a magic swordsman he had spoken to a few times, someone he recognized. He felt like he would remember his name if he saw his face, but he didn’t look back at Ian until the end. He just fell with his heart pierced.

“Semi!”

Berrick, who recognized him, cried out. But the magic swordsman’s corpse completely melted and crumbled into dust in the short moment it took to fall.

Swoosh!

The magic swordsmen, who had approached by now, climbed the shadow and unleashed their mana. They were not the kind of people who considered what was possible or impossible on the battlefield. They willingly threw themselves at the giant shadow of a god for the sake of victory, the peace of Bariel, and their faith as warriors.

“Haaah!”

“Minister Ian! We will protect you!”

Even though their attacks were absorbed by the shadow just like Ian’s, they didn’t stop.

Ian was confused. His mind had long been paralyzed, as if half-submerged in water. He was almost instinctively dodging the shadow’s attacks, but gaps were gradually opening up.

The sky was covered in black with the remains of the magic swordsmen who were sacrificing their lives to save Ian.

“…Captain!”

Zhiiiing!

Flash! Flash!

Jayrut, who was leading the charge, also felt despair with every step he took. To this thing, we are nothing but trivial beings. Is it our fate to lose?

“Until the end—!”

But Jayrut couldn’t say it out loud.

“We will complete our mission until the end!”

Even if that end was death.

The members who received Jayrut’s command continued to jump in, and they crumbled in front of Ian.

“Damn it! You bastard!”

Berrick, enraged, lost his reason and turned around. He could no longer bear to watch his comrades die so meaninglessly.

And Kumasha did not miss that opening.

“Berrick!”

Swish!

Kumasha’s red Idgal cut through Berrick’s side. His strength drained from his body in an instant, and he staggered greatly, clutching his side with one hand. Blood gushed through his fingers.

“Focus!”

Zhiiiing! Zhiing!

“Berrick, damn it, damn it!”

When Berrick knelt down, Acorella shoved a pill into his mouth and continuously poured mana into him.

But the red Idgal, similar to its original nature, gradually suppressed the power of mana.

Boom! Bang!

Boom!

Ian’s jaw clenched tightly. He let out a thunderous roar and charged at the shadow.

“I’ll tear you apart—!”

But the shadow flicked him away with a small gesture, and Ian flew hundreds of meters, colliding with a building.

Crash!

Ian was buried in the collapsed debris.

* * *

“…….”

Jin, who was watching the situation from afar, swallowed hard. This was not a battle, it was a game.

A game. Yes, it was a game. Being toyed with in the shadow’s grasp.

“Y-Your Majesty.”

Tweller, too, was flustered and kept calling out to the Emperor. He didn’t know what to do, and even after rolling on the battlefield hundreds of times, he couldn’t find an answer.

If the mages and magic swordsmen couldn’t stop that….

‘Bariel will be destroyed.’

The weight of destruction was not something Jin could bear.

Jin lowered his gaze for a moment in confusion. Instead of Ian fighting in the front, there must be something he could do from behind. Surely, there must be something that the god had allowed.

Jin naturally turned to look at Eirin.

“…….”

She was praying with her hands clasped and her eyes closed. It was as if he could hear her earnest plea to the god.

Watching that, something also stirred in Jin’s mind.

“Your Majesty! The residents have started a riot.”

“…A riot?”

Jin mechanically asked back.

But now, that was not important at all. What was important now was to grasp the unspoken clue that had surfaced in his mind.

“It seems that those who witnessed the shadow god have risen up.”

“Ha! In this situation?”

“Your Majesty, I will go and take care of it—”

‘……!’

Tap.

He finally realized it. Jin unknowingly jumped up and turned to look at the officer who was reporting.

“Those who witnessed the shadow god have risen up?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

It was the faith of Toloon. The god they believed in had appeared before their eyes. And that too, just before the capital was about to fall. In this situation, who wouldn’t be moved to offer a prayer of gratitude?

Jin grabbed his sword and mounted his horse.

“That’s it.”

“Yes?”

“From now on, I will kill all those who believe in that shadow.”

A god is a being based on faith.

But, what if that faith disappears?

“Kill them all, without leaving a single one. With the determination to erase its name.”

A crack will form in the shadow’s power.